Billing a rented third party transport including an on-board unit

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and computer readable medium for toll service activation using an on-board unit in a third party transport comprises, a third party entity, a toll rental entity, and an on-board unit communicably coupled to the third party entity and to the toll rental entity, wherein the on-board unit, receives a position signal, initiates a toll service request, converts the position signal to a toll usage, and stores the position signal, the toll service request and the toll usage.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/644,261, filed on Dec. 22, 2006. U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/644,261 is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/644,261 claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/757,347, titled Electronic Toll Payment System AndMethod For Third Party Operated Vehicles Utilizing An Onboard Unit,filed on Jan. 9, 2006 and claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/757,405, titled Gps Toll System And Method ForCollection Of Rental Vehicle Tolls, filed on Jan. 9, 2006, the entirecontents of each of which is incorporated by reference herein. Thepresent patent application is related to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/726,300, titled Toll Fee System And Method UsingPrepaid Toll Pass, filed on Oct. 13, 2005, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/759,937, titled Business Process For Toll Fee SystemAnd Method For Vehicle Registration, Invoicing, Opt-In Services, AndToll Violations, filed on Jan. 18, 2006, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/763,097 titled Method And System For Toll CollectionWith Optional Service Capabilities, filed on Jan. 27, 2006, U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 11/125,521, titled Toll FeeSystem And Method, filed on May 10, 2005, to U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 11/516,376, titled System, Method, And ComputerReadable Medium For Billing, filed on Sep. 6, 2006, to U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 11/516,380, titled System,Method, And Computer Readable Medium For Billing Tolls, filed on Sep. 6,2006, to U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 11/580,528,titled System, Method And Computer Readable Medium For Toll ServiceActivation And Billing, filed on Oct. 13, 2006, to U.S. Non-Provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 11/580,527, titled System, Method AndComputer Readable Medium For Billing Based On A Duration Of A ServicePeriod, filed on Oct. 13, 2006, to U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 11/640,550, tilted Paying Tolls Utilizing AFinancial Service Provider And Paying A Subscription Or License Fee,filed on Dec. 18, 2006, and to U.S. Non-Provisional patent applicationSer. No. 11/640,586, titled Transferring Toll Data From A Third PartyOperated Transport To A User Account, filed on Dec. 18, 2006, the entirecontents of each of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The embodiment of the disclosure is generally related to toll billingand, more specifically to billing a rented third party transportincluding an on-board unit.

A toll road is a road on which a toll authority collects a fee for use.Two variations of toll roads exist: barrier toll plazas and entry/exittolls. On a mainline toll system, all vehicles stop at various locationson the highway to pay a toll. While this may save money from the lack ofneed to construct tolls at every exit, it can cause traffic congestion,and drivers can evade tolls by going around them. With entry/exit tolls,vehicles collect a ticket when entering the highway, which displays thefares it will pay when it exits, increasing in cost for distancetraveled. Upon exit, the driver will pay the amount listed for the givenexit.

There are an increasing number of toll roads having different tollpayment systems, which causes loss of time that could result in arrivinglate to meetings and missing flights and personal events. Presently,toll booth customers need to carry spare change and/or collect tollreceipts for expenses. Additionally, customers could be in the wronglane, either the exact change lane without the exact change, or in anexpress lane without a transponder. The embodiment of the disclosureallows a customer to rent a car and travel without dealing with loosechange, mandatory cash lanes or toll receipts. The embodiment of thedisclosure allows toll fees to be included as part of a rental of athird party transport and consolidation of the toll fees and reducedtraffic congestion and vehicle emissions.

The term turnpike refers to the pike or long stick that was held acrossthe road, and only raised or turned aside when the traveler paid thetoll. Travelers have disliked toll roads not only for the cost of thetoll, but also for the delays at tollbooths.

An adaptation of military “identification friend or foe” or RFIDtechnology, called electronic toll collection, is lessening the delayincurred in toll collection. The electronic system determines whether apassing car is enrolled in the program, alerts enforcers if it is not.The accounts of registered cars are debited automatically withoutstopping or even opening a window. Other systems are based on GPRS/GSMand GPS technology. One of the advantages of GPS-based systems is theirability to adapt easily and quickly to changes in charge parameters.

Some systems use a small radio transponder mounted in or on a customer'svehicle to deduct toll fares from a pre-paid account as the vehiclepasses through the toll barrier. This reduces manpower at tollbooths andincreases traffic flow and fuel efficiency by reducing the need forcomplete stops to pay tolls at these locations.

By designing a tollgate specifically for electronic collection, it ispossible to carry out open-road tolling, where the customer does notneed to slow at all when passing through the tollgate. The state ofTexas is testing a system on a stretch of Texas 121 that has notollbooths. Drivers without a TollTag have their license platephotographed automatically and the registered owner will receive amonthly bill, at a higher rate than those vehicles with TollTags.

Electronic toll collection (ETC) systems also have drawbacks. A computerglitch can result in delays several miles long. Some state turnpikecommissions have found that such a system would be ineffective becausemost of the people who use the turnpike are not commuters, are fromstates that have no ETS on turnpikes, or are from states that don't havea turnpike at all. The toll plazas of some turnpikes are antiquatedbecause they were originally built for traffic that stops to pay thetoll or get a ticket.

Currently meeting car rental agency and car rental customer needs withrespect to toll billing presents difficulties. Currently car rentalcustomers are unable to use the fast toll lanes. The only alternativeavailable to car renters was to line up at tollbooths and wait to paytolls. Some car renters find themselves under significant time pressureand run the booths, causing problems and expense for toll authoritiesand car rental agencies. As electronic toll collection technology hasimproved, toll authorities have begun to hold rental agenciesaccountable for toll violations.

Therefore, what is needed is a method of utilizing wirelesscommunication between an on-board computer system and road-side orsatellite based wireless communication systems in order to makeavailable toll billing to third party operated vehicles. Morespecifically, what is needed is a method, computer readable media andsystem for billing a rented third party transport utilizing an on-boardunit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Rental Car Agency (RCA)

Rental car agencies are commercial entities that rent cars to corporatecard holders or financial service customers.

Third Party Entity (TPE)

The third party entity is typically the rental car agency, however insome circumstances it could be a user of a rental agency vehicle or it afleet vehicle for a university, a trucking company or another fleetvehicle entity.

Toll Rental Entity (TRE)

The toll rental entity is typically a provider of toll rental servicesto a third party entity and their users, however a toll rental entitycould be a rental car agency if the user is the third party entity. Thetoll rental entity communicates toll data from a toll authority to athird party entity after such toll data has been matched to eitherplurality of vehicles or users or a single vehicle or user using onboardunits. TRE component in the OBU facilities the data transfer betweentoll authority and third party entity using DSRC or GPS mechanism. Thetoll data that is communicated will be used for billing purposes of thetoll rental entity to the third party entity. More importantly, the tolldata is associated with an individual, a company, or plurality ofindividuals and companies whom are utilizing a fleet vehicle (3.sup.rdparty operated vehicle) which the parties do not own or is not owned bythe employer. However, there may be instances where the individual doeswork for the owner of the vehicle. Such situations occur when theindividual works directly for the fleet vehicle owner. In this situationthe individual or company which employs the individual may bill theirown company for the use of the vehicle utilizing the toll services of aToll Rental Entity. In some circumstances the third party entity may paya licensing or subscription fee directly to the toll rental entity andthe toll rental entity then handles all payments to the toll authorityfor such toll data accumulated by the third party entity vehicles.

Toll Authority (TA)

Toll authorities are government, quasi-government or private entitiesthat are legally authorized to collect tolls. These entities arerequired by law to use the collected tolls to build and maintain theroads for which the tolls are collected. When the vehicles uses the tollplaza or toll facility, toll authority sends the toll usage to the onboard unit either directly or using TRE. TA optionally sends thetransaction details to the TRE and TPE. If the vehicles are registeredas toll rental entity vehicle, toll authority charges toll rental entityby duration or by transaction and optionally send the transactioninformation to the toll rental entity or directly to the third partyentity. Any additional evidence or transaction information from tollauthority can be provided to third party entity on demand.

Toll Violation and Toll Transactions

If the rental customer or a third party entity chooses to utilize theon-board unit service via, for example, a toll subscription, a duration,a transaction, a location, and the like, then there will be no tollviolations to consider because all toll transactions accrued will bebilled directly to, for example, a card service provider or coveredcompletely in a license or subscription fee paid directly to the tollrental entity, or in another agreement. However, if customer decides notto use the toll subscription service, and the rental agency utilizes theembodiment of the disclosure, then that customer would then be placedinto an Imposed Opt-In and the subscription or license fees associatedwith the vehicle will be placed onto the customers' bill or chargeddirectly to the third party entity. Toll Violations are identified byvehicle license plates via Optical Character Recognition (OCR), GPS,DSRC and RFID transponders which do not have an active account orservice assigned to the recognition device.

Rental Agreement Number (RAN)

When a person rents a car, they sign a rental agreement with the thirdparty entity, which in this case is the rental car agency. A rentalagreement number uniquely identifies each rental agreement and thirdparty operator, user, and/or renter. The rental agreement number is anideal reference to attach a car renter with the toll service. The rentalagreement number is a reference number used between rental car agency orthird party entity and the on board unit. A customer or renter canactivate the toll service subscription through the TPE or via the OBU.The OBU sends the activation information to the TPE and optionally tothe TRE. When the renter subscribes for the toll service, a signalactivation will be sent to the OBU from the TPE optionally though theTRE. There can be multiple sessions of the rental stored in the OBUdatabase. The OBU associates the toll usage collected from the tollauthority or toll authority road side units with the rental sessions.

When the car renter or user chooses to utilize the on-board unit fortoll service or the third party entity determines to subscribe all fleettransports to the toll service, the third party entity sends details tothe toll authority via the on board unit for the toll authority to billtolls to the toll rental entity. When a rental vehicle crosses atollgate, the toll authority system captures the vehicle identificationin the toll plaza via the on board unit. If the OBU is in the tollrental entity vehicle database, the toll authority saves the toll usageinformation. The toll rental entity may match tolls against theirregistered fleet for payment or the toll rental entity may match tollsagainst the third party entity user database for payment of tolls. TheOBU updates the toll usage database by receiving the information fromthe Toll Authority through the road site unit or from the TRE.

During toll service, an OBU to captures the rental vehicle informationand the toll rental entity will confirm that any vehicle that iscaptured is a toll service subscriber and then charge the third partyentity for the tolls used. In another embodiment the toll rental entitymay have already collected a subscription or license fee prior to arental period and thus no additional billing to the third party entityis required. In such embodiment, the toll rental entity may bill asubscription or license fee for a period and use such fees to pay thetoll authority for any accrued toll charges by the vehicles that havesubscribed for service from the toll rental entity.

The on board unit may update the toll service request to the tollauthority. The embodiment of the disclosure may notify either the thirdparty entity or the toll authority of the service request with vehicleinformation, start date, expected end date and any other requiredinformation and receive toll usage from the toll authority for theservice period. The embodiment of the disclosure receives toll usagedata from the toll authority, log the transactions and update thestatus.

When the car renter returns the vehicle to the third party entity, thethird party entity notifies the embodiment of the disclosure with theend transaction. At the conclusion of the rental period the embodimentof the disclosure may pass the end date to the toll authority to informthat the account or service period for the rental car should be closed.The OBU sends the toll usage to the TPE and optionally to the TRE forbilling. The OBU closes the service request session once the rentalagreement is closed or when the vehicle is returned to the TPE. Thecustomer may choose to close the transaction directly from the OBUinterface.

Toll Service Benefits

The toll account service has many benefits extending to the tollauthority, third party entity, car renter, local drivers and otherinterested parties. Some of the benefits of toll account assignmentinclude:

eliminating car renter toll violations for rental car agencies thatoffer the toll subscription service;

eliminating toll violation collection efforts by rental car agenciesthat offer the toll subscription service;

generating substantial new revenues for rental car agencies andeliminates operational expenses typically spent on tracking downviolators; and

improving car renter travel experience within toll systems.

In one embodiment of the disclosure the third party entity will have anaccount containing information pertaining to rental vehicles. Thisinformation is necessary due to the movement of rental vehicles betweengeographical locations; the embodiment of the disclosure requiresportions of the complete rental agency fleet to be registered to provideconsistent subscription service. If third party entity signs up for tollservice then by default all the vehicles registered by the third partyentity will be enrolled in the toll rental entity fleet database. Whenthe embodiment of the disclosure moves to a new market, the third partyentity can offer car renters toll service for that location without anysignificant change. The toll rental entity will provide the list ofregistered vehicles to any participating toll authority for billing thetoll rental entity directly for toll usage.

The rental vehicle information and the OBU information is periodicallysynchronized between the toll service system and third party entityapplication. This synchronization may occur hourly, daily or nightlyusing the web service interface or File Transfer Protocol (FTP) service.Whenever vehicles with the OBU are added or removed from the fleet,information is sent from third party entity or a card service provideror financial service provider to the embodiment of the disclosuresystem. This is the vehicle status update and is initiated by the thirdparty entity, card service provider or financial service provider.Information exchanged between third party entity and toll servicesapplication is completed using extensible Markup Language (XML) or FTPfile transfer, or may be communicated orally by the user to the tollrental entity.

Billing

In an embodiment of the disclosure, billing can be by one of three majormodels, a license model in which the toll rental entity pays the TollAuthority for the toll usage by the third party entity vehicle and thetoll rental entity sends toll data usage to the third party entity whomcharges the customer by duration or rental period. The second majormodel is subscription in which the toll rental entity pays the TollAuthority for all toll usage but only charges the card service provider,financial service provider or the third party entity for a fixed fee forall toll usage. In this model the Third party entity, card serviceprovider or financial service provider may bill the user of the thirdparty operated vehicle in a manner that they so choose; for example bytransaction, by duration or by fixed price increase in the cost of therental vehicle. The last major billing model is a charge by transactionin which the toll rental entity charges the third party entity formatched toll usages and the customer pays service charges plus the tollusage to the third party entity while renting a vehicle.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, a system for toll serviceactivation using an on-board unit in a third party transport, comprises,a third party entity, a toll rental entity, and an on-board unitcommunicably coupled to the third party entity and to the toll rentalentity, wherein the on-board unit, receives a position signal, initiatesa toll service request, converts the position signal to a toll usage,and stores the position signal, the toll service request and the tollusage. The toll rental entity may activate the on-board unit using thetoll service request, and a customer may utilize the on-board unit toself-activate the toll service request. The system may also comprise atoll authority communicably coupled to at least one of the toll rentalentity and the on-board unit wherein the toll authority captures thetoll usage using dedicated short range communication, sends the tollusage to at least one of the toll rental entity and the on-board unitand updates the on-board unit with the toll usage. The third partyentity sends a close transaction signal to at least one of the tollrental entity and the on-board unit, the on-board unit closes the tollservice request, and the toll rental entity receives the closetransaction signal from the third party entity. The on-board unit sendsa toll service request activation and on-board unit information to thethird party entity, and the communication coupling is via at least oneof wireless, and wired, and the sending of information from the on-boardunit is via dedicated short range communication or satellitecommunication via GPS (global positioning satellite). The on-board unitreceives a close transaction signal, the on-board unit updates theservice request utilizing the close transaction signal, the on-boardunit sends the close transaction signal to the third party entity, thethird party entity receives the close transaction signal, the onboardunit sends the close transaction signal to the toll rental entity, andthe close transaction signal sent to the toll rental entity is at leastone of a wireless signal and a wired signal. The toll authority updatesthe toll usage when the on-board unit is present on a toll road, and theon-board unit stores the toll usage updated by the toll authority.

In another embodiment of the disclosure, a method for billing a rentedthird party transport including an on-board unit, comprises, receiving atoll usage, sending a payment from a toll rental entity to a tollauthority based upon the toll usage, if the toll rental entity chargesby a license model, transferring the toll usage to a third party entity,and charging the third party entity for the toll usage by at least oneof, a duration, a transaction, and a rental period, if the toll rentalentity charges by a subscription model, the onboard unit transferringthe toll usage to the toll rental entity, and the toll rental entitycharging at least one of the card service provider and third partyentity for a fixed fee for the toll usage, and if the toll rental entitycharges by a transaction model, transferring the toll usage to the thirdparty entity for a matched toll usage, and charging third party entityby transaction for the matched toll usage. The method may comprisecharging the third party entity or another entity or individualadditional fees and sending a license fee from the third party entity tothe toll rental entity for the toll usage, sending a fixed feesubscription payment from the card service provider or third partyentity to the toll rental entity for the toll usage and sending aservice charge and toll transaction fees from the third party entity orcard service provider to the toll rental entity for the toll usage. Inyet another embodiment of the disclosure, a method for billing a rentedthird party transport including an on-board unit, comprises, receiving atoll usage, sending a payment from a toll rental entity to a tollauthority based upon the toll usage or based upon duration, if the tollrental entity charges the third party entity by license: charging athird party entity by a fleet size or a fleet count on at least one ofan hourly basis, a daily basis, and a weekly basis, transferring thetoll usage to the third party entity as requested periodically; and ifthe toll rental entity charges the third party entity by duration:grouping by the toll rental entity all of the toll usage by the durationand charging the third party entity by duration; if the toll rentalentity charges the third party entity by transaction: charging the thirdparty entity by the toll rental entity with at least one of a servicecharge and an actual toll usage; and if the toll rental entity charges acustomer directly: grouping by the toll rental entity all of the tollusage by the duration and charging the customer by the duration. Themethod may further comprise, if the toll rental entity charges bytransaction then the toll rental entity can apply a service charge andan actual toll usage; sending a license fee from at least one of a thirdparty entity, a card service provider, a financial service provider, aTPE, a travel service provider, and a customer to the toll rental entityfor the toll usage; sending a subscription payment from at least one ofa card service provider, a financial service provider, a TPE, a travelservice provider, and a customer to the toll rental entity for the tollusage; and sending a service charge from the toll rental entity to atleast one of a card service provider, a financial service provider, aTPE, a travel service provider, and a customer for the toll usage.

In a further embodiment of the disclosure, a computer readable mediumcomprises instructions for, installing toll service software componentin an on-board unit, receiving by the on-board unit an activationrequest from at least one of, a customer, a third party entity, and atoll rental entity, receiving by the on-board unit a toll usage from atleast one of, a toll authority, and the toll rental entity, andtransferring by the on-board unit the toll usage to at least one of, aroad side unit, a GPS satellite, another on-board unit, the third partyentity, the toll rental entity, and a customer, for billing. Thecomputer readable medium may comprise instructions for managing aplurality of rental agreements, managing a plurality of communicationchannels, wherein the communication channels comprise at least one of, adedicated short range communication, and a global positioning system.The computer readable medium may additionally comprise instructions formanaging a plurality of sessions and managing a plurality of states. Theinstallation of software on the on board unit may be either a push orpull type of download.

In a first alternate embodiment the third party entity may assign avehicle according to the toll service request, and send a rentalinformation to the toll rental entity. The toll rental entity mayreceive the toll service request from at least one of the third partyentity and the on-board unit. The toll rental entity stores the tollservice request, a toll authority queries the stored toll rental entityfor the toll service request and the toll rental entity sends toll usageto the toll rental entity. The toll rental entity may store the tollusage and receive the toll service request. The third party entity maycorrelate the toll service request to a rental agreement and send thecorrelated information to the toll rental entity. The toll rental entitymay associate the toll service request to a rental agreement, send thetoll service request and the toll usage to a toll authority, receive thetoll usage from a toll authority and send the toll usage received fromthe toll authority to the third party entity. The toll usage is sentfrom the toll rental entity to the third party entity. The third partyentity may send an activation request to the on-board unit, receive thetoll usage and rental information from the on-board unit and receive thetoll usage from the on-board unit.

In a second alternate embodiment a toll based on-board unit, comprises amemory; and a processor communicably coupled to the memory, wherein theprocessor sends information to a road side unit, global positioningsystem, or other positioning unit or system related to a third partytransport utilizing a toll facility; and receives a toll usage from atleast one of a toll authority and a toll rental entity. The on-boardunit stores the received toll usage and the information sent by the roadside unit includes at least one of, a toll facility location, a time oftoll usage, and an on-board unit data set. The toll authority maydetermine if the on-board unit is a member of a toll rental entityon-board list, store the toll usage and send the toll usage to a tollrental entity.

In a third alternate embodiment a toll based on-board unit, comprising,a memory, and a processor communicably coupled to the memory, whereinthe processor, sends information to a road side unit or globalpositioning system related to a third party transport utilizing a tollfacility, and receives the toll usage from a third party entity. Theon-board unit stores the received toll usage and the information sent bythe road side unit includes at least one of, a toll facility location, atime of toll usage, and an on-board unit data set. The toll authoritymay determine if the on-board unit is a member of a toll rental entityon-board list, store the toll usage and send the toll usage to a tollrental entity. The toll rental entity may update the toll usage, andstore the updated toll usage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of billing a rented third party transportincluding an onboard unit that includes an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of a first model of billing a rentedthird party transport including an onboard unit that includes anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of a second model billing a rented thirdparty transport including an onboard unit that includes an embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of toll service activation using an onboard unit that includes an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of toll service activation using a thirdparty entity that includes an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a toll authority updating toll usagethat includes an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of the toll rental entity updating tollusage that includes an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates billing a rented third party transport including anon board unit in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a first flow chart of billing data transfer thatincludes an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a first system overview of billing a rented thirdparty transport including an on board unit in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a second system overview of billing a rented thirdparty transport including an on board unit in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a second flow chart of billing data transfer thatincludes an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, an overview of billing a rented third partytransport including an on board unit 100 is depicted. A third partyentity 112 is in communication with an on board unit 114 which may be aGlobal Position System (GPS), Dedicated Short Range Communication(DSRC), or other positioning unit or system that is communicating withthe third party entity by means of Road Side Unit (RSU), satellite basedcommunication system, or other positioning unit or system. A tollauthority 116 is in communication with the on board unit by means ofremote sensing unit. Both the third party entity and the toll authorityare in communication with a toll rental entity 118. The third partyentity is typically a rental car agency but may be an individual. Thethird party transport would typically be a rental vehicle. The tollrental entity is typically a service provider, however it could be arental car agency if the user is the third party entity. The tollauthority is a government, quasi-government or private entity that islegally authorized to collect tolls. The third party entity may have anOBU, TRE, GPS/DSRC and customer interface a Point Of Sale (POS)interface and an associated toll service database. The Toll authoritymay have a TRE account, TRE OBU and TRE and TRE Fleet OBU interface, andmay also have TRE usage and a TRE service database. The toll rentalentity may have a TPE, TA and OBU interface, and have data on tollusage, rental details, TPE OBU fleet details. The toll rental entity mayalso track billing, invoicing and dispute management. Additionally thetoll rental entity may download OBU software patch updates, track tollroad subscriptions and manage bandwidth. The transfer of informationoccurs via at least one of a wireless protocol a wired protocol and acombination of the wireless protocol and the wired protocol. The stepsin the flow are performed by software, hardware, firmware, and/or thecombination of software, hardware, and/or firmware. FIGS. 1a, 1b, 1c,and 1d represent the possible different models the OBU can communicatewith the TPE, TRE and TA.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a flow chart of a first model of billing arented third party transport including an on board unit 200 is depicted.Five entities are in communication, a customer 210, a third party entity212, an on board unit 214, a toll rental entity 216 and a toll authority218. The third party entity is typically a rental car agency but may bean individual. The toll rental entity is typically a service provider,however it could be a rental car agency if the user is the third partyentity. The toll authority is a government, quasi-government or privateentity that is legally authorized to collect tolls. The third partytransport would typically be a rental vehicle.

The customer rents 220 a vehicle with toll service. The third partyentity assigns 222 the vehicle and sends 224 rental and serviceinformation to the toll rental entity, which receives the request 226.The received service request is stored 228 by the toll rental entity,which then activates 230 the on board unit for service. The on boardunit initiates 232 the toll service process which is stored 234 in thetoll service database. The toll authority captures 236 the toll datausing a DSRC road side unit, checks 238 with the toll rental entitydatabase and sends 240 the toll data to the toll rental entity. The tolldata is stored 242 by the toll rental entity in a toll data database.The toll rental entity updates 244 the DSRC OBU with the toll usage andstores it in the toll service database.

When the customer returns 246 the vehicle, the third party entity sends248 a close transaction to the toll rental entity. The toll rentalentity receives 250 the close transaction and sends 252 the notificationto the OBU which updates the toll service database. The transfer ofinformation occurs via at least one of: a wireless protocol, a wiredprotocol and a combination of the wireless protocol and the wiredprotocol. The steps in the flow are performed by software, hardware,firmware, and/or the combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow chart of a first model of billing arented third party transport including an on board unit 300 is depicted.Five entities are in communication, a customer 310, a third party entity312, an on board unit 314, a toll rental entity 316 and a toll authority318. The third party entity is typically a rental car agency but may bean individual. The toll rental entity is typically a service provider,however it could be a rental car agency if the user is the third partyentity. The toll authority is a government, quasi-government or privateentity that is legally authorized to collect tolls. The third partytransport would typically be a rental vehicle.

The customer rents 320 a vehicle with toll service. The third partyentity assigns 322 the vehicle with the toll service and initiates 324the toll service process and stores 326 the request in a toll servicedatabase. The OBU notifies 328 the toll rental entity of the action. Thetoll rental entity receives 330 the toll service request and stores 332the service request at the toll rental entity. The toll authoritycaptures 334 the toll data using a DSRC road side unit, checks 336 withthe toll rental entity database and sends 338 the toll data to the OBUwhere toll data is stored. The toll rental entity updates the DSRC OBUwith the toll usage and stores it in the toll service database.

When the customer returns 340 the vehicle, the third party entity sends342 a close transaction to the OBU. The OBU receives 344 the closetransaction and sends the notification to the toll rental entity. Thetransfer of information occurs via at least one of a wireless protocol,a wired protocol and a combination of the wireless protocol and thewired protocol. The steps in the flow are performed by software,hardware, firmware, and/or the combination of software, hardware, and/orfirmware.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow chart of toll service activation usingan on board unit 400 is depicted. Four entities are in communication, acustomer 410, an on board unit 412, a third party entity 414 and a tollrental entity 416. The third party entity is typically a rental caragency but may be an individual. The toll rental entity is typically aservice provider, however it could be a rental car agency if the user isthe third party entity. The third party transport would typically be arental vehicle.

The customer rents 418 a vehicle and uses the OBU to activate 420 thetoll service. The OBU initiates 422 the toll service process and stores424 the service request in the toll service database. The OBU sends 426the toll service activation to the third party entity with OBUinformation using the road side units with DSCR and GPS. The third partyentity associates 428 the service request with the rental agreement andsend the vehicle information OBU information and rental period to thetoll rental entity using web service or file transfer protocol. The tollrental entity associates 430 the service request with the rentalagreement. The service request is stored 432 by the toll rental entity.The toll rental entity updates 434 the service request and toll data andnotifies a toll authority with details. The toll rental entity stores436 the toll data. The toll rental entity may send 438 the toll usagereceived from the toll authority to the toll rental entity.

When the customer returns 440 the vehicle and uses the OBU fornotification. The on board unit updates 442 the toll service data andnotifies the third party entity and the third party entity closes 444the rental agreement and notifies the toll rental entity using wired orwireless communication, which may include toll usage data. The transferof information occurs via at least one of: a wireless protocol, a wiredprotocol and a combination of the wireless protocol and the wiredprotocol. The steps in the flow are performed by software, hardware,firmware, and/or the combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a flow chart of toll service activation using athird party entity 500 is depicted. Five entities are in communication,a customer 510, a third party entity 512, an on board unit 514, a tollauthority 516 and a toll rental entity 518. The third party entity istypically a rental car agency but may be an individual. The toll rentalentity is typically a service provider, however it could be a rental caragency if the user is the third party entity. The third party transportwould typically be a rental vehicle.

The customer rents 520 a vehicle with toll service. The third partyentity assigns 522 the vehicle with the toll service and sends 524 anactivation request to the OBU. The OBU initiates 526 the toll serviceprocess and stores 528 the toll service request in the toll servicedatabase. A toll authority updates 530 toll usage when the on board unituses the toll road and stores 532 the toll usage in the OBU toll usagedatabase. The toll rental entity receives 536 toll usage and rentalinformation from the OBU and the OBU notifies 534 the toll rental entityof the toll usage and rental details.

When the customer returns 538 the vehicle, the third party entityreceives 540 toll data from the OBU and stores it in the OBU tollservice database. The transfer of information occurs via at least one ofa wireless protocol, a wired protocol and a combination of the wirelessprotocol and the wired protocol. The steps in the flow are performed bysoftware, hardware, firmware, and/or the combination of software,hardware, and/or firmware.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flow chart of a toll authority updating tollusage 600 is depicted. Four entities are in communication, a toll rentalentity 610, the toll authority 612, a road side unit 614 and an on boardunit 616. The toll rental entity is typically a service provider,however it could be a rental car agency if the user is the third partyentity. The toll authority is a government, quasi-government or privateentity that is legally authorized to collect tolls. The third partytransport would typically be a rental vehicle.

The OBU uses 618 the toll facility and a road side unit captures 620 theOBU information. The road side unit sends 622 the toll facilitylocation, time, and OBU information to the toll authority. The tollauthority captures 624 toll usage and checks with the toll rental entityon board unit list and stores 626 the information at the toll authorityand sends 628 toll usage information to the on board unit, where it isstored 630 in the on board unit database. The toll authorityperiodically sends 632 the toll usage to the toll rental entity. Thetransfer of information occurs via at least one of a wireless protocol,a wired protocol and a combination of the wireless protocol and thewired protocol. The steps in the flow are performed by software,hardware, firmware, and/or the combination of software, hardware, and/orfirmware.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flow chart of a toll rental entity updatingtoll usage 700 is depicted. Four entities are in communication, a tollrental entity 710, the toll authority 712, a road side unit 714 and anon board unit 716. The toll rental entity is typically a serviceprovider, however it could be a rental car agency if the user is thethird party entity. The toll authority is a government, quasi-governmentor private entity that is legally authorized to collect tolls. The thirdparty transport would typically be a rental vehicle.

The OBU uses 718 the toll facility and a road side unit captures 720 theOBU information. The road side unit sends 722 the toll facilitylocation, time, and OBU information to the toll authority. The tollauthority captures 724 toll usage and checks with the toll rental entityon board unit list and stores 726 the information at the toll authorityand sends 728 toll usage information to the toll rental entity. The tollrental entity updates 730 the toll usage and stores 732 the data. Thetoll rental entity sends 734 the optional toll usage information to theon board unit where it is stored 736 in a toll service database. Thetransfer of information occurs via at least one of a wireless protocol,a wired protocol and a combination of the wireless protocol and thewired protocol. The steps in the flow are performed by software,hardware, firmware, and/or the combination of software, hardware, and/orfirmware.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a flow chart of a toll rental entity billing800 is depicted. The toll rental entity begins 810 the billing processand sends 812 payments to the toll authority for the toll data. Thequery is made 814 whether the toll rental entity charges by the licensemodel. If it does then the toll rental entity transfers 816 the tollusage to the third party entity, charges 818 the customer by duration,transaction or rental and the third party entity sends 20 the licensefee to the toll rental entity. The query is made 822 whether the tollrental entity charges by the subscription model. If yes the toll rentalentity transfers 824 the toll usage to the card service provider and thecard service provider charges 826 the customer and periodically sends828 a subscription payment to the toll rental entity. The query is made830 whether the toll rental entity charges by the transaction model. Ifyes the toll rental entity charges 832 the third party entity for thematched toll usage, the customer pays 834 a service charge to the thirdparty entity while renting the vehicle and the third party entityperiodically sends 836 the service charge to the toll rental entity. Ifno toll match is found the toll rental entity sends toll data to thethird party entity. A determination is made as to whether the rental caragency pays for unsubscribed usage. If the car rental entity does payfor unsubscribed usage the third party entity collects payment and anyservice charges from the unsubscribed customer. The third party entitysends payment to the toll rental entity for unmatched tolls with servicecharges. The transfer of information occurs via at least one of awireless protocol, a wired protocol and a combination of the wirelessprotocol and the wired protocol. The steps in the flow are performed bysoftware, hardware, firmware, and/or the combination of software,hardware, and/or firmware.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a flow chart of a billing 900 is depicted. Fourentities are in communication a third party entity 912, an on board unit914, a toll rental entity 916 and a toll authority 918. The third partyentity sends 920 the on board unit information to the toll rentalentity. The toll rental entity receives 922 the on board unitinformation and sends 924 the information for subscription service andinstalls 926 the toll service component on the on board unit. The onboard unit receives and stores 928 the toll service component in thetoll service database in the on board unit. The toll authority stores930 the on board unit information. The transfer of information occursvia at least one of: a wireless protocol, a wired protocol and acombination of the wireless protocol and the wired protocol. The stepsin the flow are performed by software, hardware, firmware, and/or thecombination of software, hardware, and/or firmware.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a first system overview of billing a rentedthird party entity transport including an on board unit 1000 isdepicted. A satellite 1010 is in communication with a toll authority1012, a toll rental entity 1014 and a third party entity 1016. A thirdparty transport 1018 has an on board unit 1020 in communication with thesatellite and a road side unit 1022 which communicates with the on boardunit by DSRC. A clearing house 1024 captures the data from the road sideunit the toll authority and the toll renal entity. The third partyentity communicates with the road side unit. The transfer of informationoccurs via at least one of: a wireless protocol a wired protocol and acombination of the wireless protocol and the wired protocol. The stepsin the flow are performed by software, hardware, firmware, and/or thecombination of software, hardware, and/or firmware.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a second system overview of billing a rentedthird party entity transport including an on board unit 1100 isdepicted. Vehicles equipped with on board units 1110, 1112 and 1114traverse a toll road and the on board units receive position data from aGPS satellite 1116. The on board unit data can also be transmitted bythe Internet 1118 and GSM cell phone 1120. Three options 1122 areavailable for tracking, the first is OBU to GPS to toll rental entity torental car agency, the second is OBU to GPS to toll rental entity torental car agency or toll authority and the third is GPS to OBU torental car agency road side unit to toll rental entity to tollauthority. The toll authority 1124 communicates with a clearing house1126 for multiple toll authorities. The clearing house communicates withthe toll rental entity 1128 or a bank 1130, 1132. The toll rental entitycommunicates with a rental agency point of sale 1136 system whichgenerates a customer receipt 1138 for the rental agency customer 1140.The on board unit status life cycle 1142 is ready 1144, active 1146, inuse 1148 and closed 1150. The transfer of information occurs via atleast one of: a wireless protocol a wired protocol and a combination ofthe wireless protocol and the wired protocol. The steps in the flow areperformed by software, hardware, firmware, and/or the combination ofsoftware, hardware, and/or firmware.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a second flow chart of billing data transfer1200 is depicted. A third party entity interface 1202, toll rentalentity interface 1204 and toll authority interface 1206 process a set oftoll service requests 1208 in queue. The toll service requests interactwith on board units in some portion of their life cycle 1210, ready,active, in use and closed. The on board unit queue, transfersinformation to and from the on board unit to update software and toupload and download toll data. The transfer of information occurs via atleast one of a wireless protocol a wired protocol and a combination ofthe wireless protocol and the wired protocol. The steps in the flow areperformed by software, hardware, firmware, and/or the combination ofsoftware, hardware, and/or firmware.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the system of the embodiment of thedisclosure has been illustrated in the accompanied drawings anddescribed in the foregoing detailed description, it will be understoodthat the embodiment of the disclosure is not limited to the embodimentsdisclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, andsubstitutions without departing from the spirit of the embodiment of thedisclosure as set forth and defined by the following claims. Forexample, the capabilities of the embodiment of the disclosure can beperformed fully and/or partially by one or more of the processors ormemories. Also, these capabilities may be performed in the currentmanner or in a distributed manner and on, or via, any device able toprovide and/or receive information. Further, although depicted in aparticular manner, various modules or blocks may be repositioned withoutdeparting from the scope of the current embodiment of the disclosure.Still further, although depicted in a particular manner, a greater orlesser number of modules and connections can be utilized with theembodiment of the disclosure in order to accomplish the embodiment ofthe disclosure, to provide additional known features to the embodimentof the disclosure, and/or to make the embodiment of the disclosure moreefficient. Also, the information sent between various modules can besent between the modules via at least one of a data network, theInternet, an Internet Protocol network, a wireless source, and a wiredsource and via plurality of protocols.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing toll service to athird-party-operated transport user, the method comprising: installing,via a processor of an automotive navigation device, a toll servicesoftware in the automotive navigation device of at least one of aplurality of third-party-operated transports; wherein the automotivenavigation device comprises a database communicably coupled to theprocessor and a network interface comprising hardware and encodedsoftware for wireless communications; activating the automotivenavigation device to function as a toll service device and forcommunication with a toll authority computer via at least one of GlobalPositioning System satellites and the Internet; wherein the step ofactivating is performed by the third-party-operated transport user ofthe third-party-operated transport relative to acceptance of a tollservice option; wherein the toll service option is provided to thethird-party-operated transport user via an interface of the automotivenavigation device; utilizing a toll authority via the activatedautomotive navigation device; storing toll usage data in the database ofthe automotive navigation device; transferring the stored toll usagedata from the database of the automotive navigation device to athird-party entity computer; and billing the third-party-operatedtransport user, by the third-party entity computer, a fee correspondingto a toll usage amount upon return of a third-party-operated transportof the plurality of third-party-operated transports to a third-partyentity.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of activating isperformed by at least one of: the third-party entity; a toll-rentalentity; and the toll authority.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thetoll authority is communicably coupled to at least one of: thethird-party entity; the toll-rental entity; and the on-board computer.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the automotive navigation deviceinterface allows interaction between the third-party-operated transportuser and the automotive navigation device.
 5. The method of claim 2,further comprising: sending a deactivation signal to at least one of thethird-party entity computer and the automotive navigation device; andwherein, upon receiving the deactivation signal, the automotivenavigation device discontinues communication with the toll authoritycomputer.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the fee corresponding to thetoll usage amount is charged to the third-party-operated transport userby the third-party entity computer.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe third-party-operated transport user pays the fee corresponding tothe toll usage amount via the automotive navigation device interface. 8.The method of claim 2, wherein the third-party entity comprises at leastone of: an entity that rents vehicles; an entity that leases vehicles;and an entity that loans vehicles.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein thetoll-rental entity is a stand-alone unit from the third-party entity.10. The method of claim 2, wherein the toll-rental entity is integratedwithin the third-party entity.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thetoll usage data comprises at least one of a toll transaction time and avehicle license plate number.
 12. A method for providing toll service toa third-party-operated transport user, the method comprising:installing, via a processor of an automotive navigation device, a tollservice software in the automotive navigation device of at least one ofa plurality of third-party-operated transports; wherein the automotivenavigation device comprises a database communicably coupled to theprocessor and a network interface comprising hardware and encodedsoftware for wireless communications; activating the automotivenavigation device to function as a toll service device and forcommunication with a toll authority computer via at least one of GlobalPositioning System satellites and the Internet; wherein the step ofactivating is performed by the third-party-operated transport user ofthe third-party-operated transport relative to acceptance of a tollservice option; wherein the toll service option is provided to thethird-party-operated transport user via an interface of the automotivenavigation device; utilizing a toll authority via the activatedautomotive navigation device; storing toll usage data in the database ofthe automotive navigation device; transferring the stored toll usagedata from the database of the automotive navigation device to atoll-rental entity computer; and billing the third-party-operatedtransport user, by the toll-rental entity computer, a fee correspondingto a toll usage amount upon return of a third-party-operated transportof the plurality of third-party-operated transports to a third-partyentity.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the fee corresponding to thetoll usage amount is charged to the third-party-operated transport userby the toll-rental entity computer.
 14. The method of claim 12, whereinthe third-party-operated transport user pays the fee corresponding tothe toll usage amount via an automotive navigation device interface. 15.The method of claim 12, wherein the toll authority is communicablycoupled to at least one of: the third-party entity; a toll-rentalentity; and the on-board computer.
 16. The method of claim 15, whereinthe third-party entity comprises at least one of: an entity that rentsvehicles; an entity that leases vehicles; and an entity that loansvehicles.
 17. A system for providing third-party-operated transportusers an option for toll service, the system comprising: athird-party-operated transport; a toll authority; an automotivenavigation device of the third-party-operated transport, the automotivenavigation device comprising: an automotive navigation device interface;a database; and a processor communicably coupled to the database,wherein the processor is configured to install a toll service softwarein the automotive navigation device; wherein the automotive navigationdevice comprises a network interface comprising hardware and encodedsoftware for wireless communications; wherein the automotive navigationdevice interface allows interaction between the third-party-operatedtransport user and the automotive navigation device and provides, to thethird-party-operated transport user, the option for the toll serviceutilizing the automotive navigation device; wherein, responsive to adetermination that the toll service option has been accepted by thethird-party-operated transport user via the automotive navigation deviceinterface, the automotive navigation device is activated for functioningas a toll service device and for communication with a toll authoritycomputer and allows the third-party-operated transport user to utilize atoll authority and track toll usage data; wherein the database of theautomotive navigation device stores the toll usage data and transfersthe toll usage data to at least one of a third-party entity computer anda toll-rental entity computer via at least one of Global PositioningSystem satellites and the Internet; and wherein the third-party-operatedtransport user is billed by at least one of the third-party entitycomputer and the toll-rental entity computer, a fee corresponding to atoll usage amount upon return of the third-party-operated transport to athird-party entity.